Humanity’s fate hangs in balance amid climate crisis: UN chief

The UN chief on Friday warned of the catastrophic effects of climate change, saying that "humanity's fate hangs in the balance."

Addressing the COP28 climate summit in UAE's city of Dubai, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the conference should be a ray of hope in the struggle against climate change.

"Make this COP a new hope for the future," he told the world leaders attending the conference.

"You can prevent planetary crash and burn. We need leadership, cooperation, and political will. And we need it now," Guterres said, adding that climate justice is "long overdue."

"Developing countries are being devastated by disasters they did not cause," he said.

According to the UN, COP28 will underline the need "to preserve a livable climate," while emphasizing that the production of coal, oil and gas "must rapidly decline."

Another key aim is to ramp up the use of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal energy. The UN wants the capacity of renewables to triple by 2030.

Financing and investments for adaptation and climate resilience "need a quantum leap," according to the UN.